Cab rentals now eyeing B2B space

Players like Uber are realising that the B2B offering will need to suit the client needs and a price war is nowhere near sustainable.

If the Uber-Ola merger does happen, the cab rental sector will see a consolidation more in the B2C space, with not much ground covered by either of the players in the B2B space, where a lot of the market is still occupied by local and regional players.

If the Uber-Ola merger does happen, the cab rental sector will see a consolidation more in the B2C space, with not much ground covered by either of the players in the B2B space, where a lot of the market is still occupied by local and regional players. Many local players, such as TabCab or City CoolCab, for example, were caught napping as online players made hay. Consumers quickly adapted to the attractive offerings and highly competitive prices of the tech cab fleets. However, the B2B operation of local players is hard to disrupt, with their long-term relation between client and service provider, and a systematic movement of people versus the unpredictable booking spectrum that can be seen on the B2C side.

Meru Cabs, to be on a par with the tech companies, is investing in building further capabilities in engineering, data science, mobility and geo-intelligence to build the most comprehensive and state-of-the-art tech platform for its B2B business. Nilesh Sangoi, CEO, Meru Cabs, points out that clients are willing to look beyond price. He says, “For B2B clients, our biggest USP is transparent pricing, honest billing and overall efficiency in services. We have seen clients acknowledging this fact and see a significant saving in their transportation spends, even though our rates may be higher than other service providers.” Players like Uber are realising that the B2B offering will need to suit the client needs and a price war is nowhere near sustainable. The company is investing heavily into the B2B segment across product and business growth.